From Capt. Stone’s statement at the conclusion of his Article 32 on May 15th…
“I have never lied and have worked at all times to assist as best I could to shed light on what I knew and when I knew it. The most frustrating thing is the reality that even looking at this whole matter through 20/20 hindsight, I know I was trying to help.
“My firm belief that there was no law of armed conflict violation was the foundation for what actions I did take as well as action I did not take.”
Officer recommends dropping Haditha charges against Marine (Capt. Randy W. Stone)
(AP)
Charges against a Marine officer accused of failing to investigate the killings of 24 Iraqis in the town of Haditha should be dismissed, the investigating officer in the case has recommended.
Capt. Randy W. Stone, 34, is one of four officers accused of failing to report and investigate the deaths of the men, women and children in a deadly sweep on a chaotic day of battle in the village.
His attorney, Charles Gittins, said Saturday that investigating officer Maj. Thomas McCann concluded in a report to the commanding general overseeing the case that Stone should not face trial and the matter should be handled administratively.
The recommendation is non-binding. A final decision will be made by Lt. Gen. James Mattis, the commanding general overseeing the case.
Stone faces up to 2 1/2 years in prison and dismissal if his case goes to trial and he is convicted.
Camp Pendleton spokesman Lt. Col. Sean Gibson declined to comment until Mattis makes his final decision.
Stone is one of four officers charged with dereliction of duty. Three enlisted Marines are charged with murder. All belonged to the Camp Pendleton-based 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
Wild Thing’s comment………
Seems to me that, at a minimum, this says something about everything else. If there was no demand that an investigation was required, then there were no circumstances screaming “demand.” In short, AT THAT TIME everyone and his brother was viewing the events of Haditha Day as “what war really looks like.”
All the witnesses are terrorists, or those that give aid to the terrorists. This whole thing never should have
been investigated at all. This is WAR and dang-it, let our troops alone to fight this war. All this interferrence and catrering to the terrorists to look into this is NOT good for our troops. Not good at all.
God Bless our Marines!
WT – I just viewed the severed heads of our US troops in Iraq, along with their mutilated torsos
on Michael Savage’s website – the photos that the world witnesses but us – and I am sick to my stomach that our troops are viewed as war crimminals and the ‘bad guys’ by our own liberal media! When Saddam Hussein was executed, I had to view it on a British website too! FREEDOM OF PRESS my #@!$%^^%^$#@!@#$% ! – Paper Lions 2007?
Seems like the wussies in our government are just looking for ways to say, “Oh look how bad and mean and unjust and unfair we are.”
And they’re letting the media tell us what to do!
The media ought to be tried and shot as treasonous.
Time to stand up and quit being timid and shy. We aren’t PAPER TIGERS–we’re Americans. Have we forgotten what it is to be an American?
I guess so.
This is what happens when the ROE’s favor the enemy. This whole idea of innocent civilians is crap. If they are innocent why then are they in the area of an Ambush. If the civilians support the Terrorists then they too are the enemy and they are not innocent. If the civilians support US then they will stay out of the way and let our troops do their job. Its that simple.
We have gotten into the idea of “Innocents” being slaughtered, by American Troops, via Rosie O’dumbass and our own congress and other left-wing activist who want nothing more than our troops to fail.
When a civilian who sides with the enemy then straps on an explosive device to be detonated at his command he is no longer an innocent civilian.
This is a war, the crueler it is the sooner it will be over.
WT, you said, ‘God Bless Our Marines’, did you also know, Marines pull duty in heaven, who else would God trust.
I have been soundly castigated for MY opinion of Bush and the way he has forced our wonderful guys and gals to just pretty much roll over and take it, and you may blast me here too but the problem in Iraq is NOT our military or their actions, our problem stems from the MSM and the ridiculous PC war that Bush thinks we can, or should fight…
Bush doesn’t want to offend anyone, he wants everyone to like him, and that’s pure BS, in WAR, people DIE, and if he hasn’t got the smarts to realize that he either needs to get our guys OUT of Iraq or turn the operation over to someone that has the balls to prosecute it as it should be…
Most of the american public has had their view of battle cleaned up and presented as an american perpetrated atrocity since as early as 1963, the media has the turpitude to tell the biased truth. They’ll skew the truth so it will put Americans and our troops in as bad a position as possible in the world’s view.
Why? Some of it is to cover their own asses to gain access to areas the enemy normally would kill them on sight in, so they never portray the enemy as they really are nor do they show the atrocities perpetrated against civilians, they’ll exploit american or allies deaths if it furthers the enemies objective and curries their favor. Ask any combat veteran if the media has accurately shown the atrocities perpetrated by our enemies against their own people to terrorize them into compliance, hell no, it will only get exposure if it can implicate the american soldier. This is the same media, the same anarchists, the same leftists who trumped up charges against Lewis Libby in a non crime and used the legal system to punish him. Charged, tried and convicted in the press, entrapped by the FBI and sentenced by a corrupt legal system, that system has infiltrated the UCMJ and the JAG. They are out to destroy America, our troops and our way of life. They are working overtime to pass the hate crimes bill so they can fill the gulag with people who think, speak out and oppose their views. We spend far too much time concerned about collateral damage, civilian casualties and political correctness, if civilians are in harms way and they know it, they become refugees or divulge the enemy presence, anything less is collaboration. Once that concept of the enemy is trying to kill ‘me’ is accepted it’s much easier to take the appropriate action when attacked, that’s something the couch potatoe’s don’t know and will never know unless they’ve been there. Turn these Marines loose and reinstate their valor and good names. They were just doing what they were trained to do against a guerilla enemy force that would show them no clemency or mercy and leave them to be exploited pictures on the world stage, pictures of butchery of Islamic victory. Murtha, you are a disgrace to any American fighting for your freedom, unworthy to carry the bedpan of a wounded Marine.
The Commander in Chief is the beginning of a series of government weak links. Bush is a piss poor “leader”. He should be giving press conferences attacking the media, attacking the democraps and promising support of our troops and Border Patrolmen.
Instead he is at the Gee whiz 8 Conference giving away my tax dollars to fight Aids in Africa. I guess that will be his legacy. Like his dad’s legacy getting us involved in a “feel good” mission in Somalia.
Meanwhile our freedom defenders in the military and law enforcement pay for the true legacy of Bush which is weak leadership.
Ya know I just happened to catch the new
Dennis Miller show last week,the man had some
food for thought. One that Iraq had WMD and
they are now in Syria.Next It was Iraq or
Syria, one or the other it was the beginning
of a war against Radical Islam.Last, that Israel
will blow up Irans nuke plant sooner than later.
he said this is a scarry time and our goverment
needs to get its sheeeeet together….My Idea
call your Congressman or Senator and say how do
you plan to defeat Radical Islam…
Darth, the terrorists work very hard to get photos like that taken for their propaganda. I hate the terrorists and pray we rid the world of them no matter what country the terrorist’s are found, take them all out.
Lynn, I know exactly what you mean, one good thing is that not all of us have forgotten, but there are far too many that have forgotten what it is to be an American and why our country has been so special and also why we live in the land of the free.
Mark……”This whole idea of innocent civilians is crap”…..I agree so much with what you said. I am sick of how they even give credibility to those that were witnesses.
BIG smile, I love what you said about the Marines guarding Heaven and who else would God trust.
Texas Fred, where the heck have you been that anyone would not agree with you unless you have been at a Rhino or leftie site.
I agree with you, our troops are doing an awesome job.
The PR bullcrap from the Media, the left, the left and rhino politicians is just that bullcrap. They don’t want us to win, they want to make nice with the terrorists and heck for them to even say we are at war with Islam makes them choke. I can’t stand those that don’t face what we are doing, that are weak and expect a war to be over in a weekend like some kind of a retreat of war games. NO, it is war against Islam and it might well go on past my lifetime.
Jack, great comment, thank you!!!!
Tom, that was beautifully put and so true.
Tincan Sailor, I truly believe there were WMD and they had more then enough time to move them. Blinx was an idiot and a traitor and he did all he could to help Saddam have time to move the WMD.
Israel might very well be the one to blow up Iran. I pray we are in it too supporting Israel 100%.
I agree TC, our Congressman and Senator’s should be asked how they plan to take care of these things.
Lovely Lynn – With over 16 family members that served in the U.S. and German military forces from WW I thru Operation Iraqi Freedom…it’s the U.S. President AND his Joint Chiefs of Staff that have FORGOTTEN what it’s like to be an American! WE are winners and WE have been sold out and frustrated by the kinder and gentler kumbaya ‘PC’ baby boomers in power…such a pathetic disgrace to our patriots of old. These paper lions make me sick to my red, white and blue stomach. Our military forces deserve better so unleash the dogs of all out WAR and wipe radical Islam off the face of the earth…NOW!
In 1998, OBL declared war on us and 11 years later we are still pussy footing around? Excuse me while I vomit again. – The Death Star II